''Mystery Date'' is a 1991 American

dark Darkness is the condition resulting from a lack of illumination, or an absence of visible light. Human vision is unable to distinguish colors in conditions of very low luminance because the hue-sensitive photoreceptor cells on the retina are ...

comedy film The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dark comedy being an exception to this rule. Comedy is one of the o ...

directed by

Jonathan Wacks Jonathan Philip Wacks is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. He has directed a number of films including '' Powwow Highway'', produced by George Harrison. The film won the Sundance Film Festival Filmmaker’s Trophy, was nomina ...

, and starring

Ethan Hawke Ethan Green Hawke (born November 6, 1970) is an American actor, author, and film director. He made his film debut in ''Explorers (film), Explorers'' (1985), before making a breakthrough performance in ''Dead Poets Society'' (1989). Hawke starr ...

Teri Polo Theresa Elizabeth Polo (born June 1, 1969) is an American actress. She starred as Pamela Martha Focker (née Byrnes) in the ''Meet the Parents'' trilogy, Helen Santos in ''The West Wing'', and played the role of police officer Stef Adams Foster ...

, and Brian McNamara. Shock-rockers

Gwar Gwar, often stylized as GWAR, is an American heavy metal band formed in Richmond, Virginia, in 1984, composed of and operated by a frequently rotating line-up of musicians, artists, and filmmakers collectively known as Slave Pit Inc. Since ...

have a brief cameo in the film.

Plot

Tom McHugh quickly learns that his perfect big brother Craig isn't all he's cracked up to be while on a night on the town with the girl next door, during which Tom is harassed by unpleasant strangers, threatened by mobsters, pursued by police, attacked by an irate florist, accused of murder, and has his date kidnapped—all because everyone thinks he's Craig...and the classic 1959 DeSoto Firesweep he borrowed off his brother has two dead bodies in the trunk.

Cast

as Tom McHugh *

as Geena Matthews * Brian McNamara as Craig McHugh *

Fisher Stevens Stephen Fisher (born November 27, 1963), known professionally as Fisher Stevens, is an American actor, director, producer and writer. As an actor, he is best known for his portrayals of Ben Jahveri in ''Short Circuit'' (1986) and ''Short Circu ...

as Dwight *

BD Wong Bradley Darryl Wong (born October 24, 1960) is an American actor. Wong won a Tony Award for his performance as Song Liling in '' M. Butterfly'', becoming the only actor in Broadway history to receive the Tony Award, Drama Desk Award, Outer Crit ...

as James Lew *

Tony Rosato Antonio Rosato (26 December 1954 – 10 January 2017) was a Canadian actor and comedian, who appeared in television and films. He was best known as a cast member on both '' SCTV'' and ''Saturday Night Live'', and for voicing Luigi in '' The Adven ...

as Sharpie * Don S. Davis as Doheny *

James Hong James Hong (born February 22, 1929) is an American actor, producer and director. Known as one of the most prolific character actors of all time, he has worked in over 400 productions in U.S. media since the Golden Age of Hollywood in the 1950s. ...

as Fortune Teller * Victor Wong as The Janitor *

Ping Wu Ping Wu (born May 16, 1956) is an American television and film actor. Personal life Wu is Chinese–American. His father was author and educator Nelson Ikon Wu, and his sister, Ting Wu, is a genetics professor at the Harvard Medical School. ...

as Vince * Duncan Fraser as Crully *

Jerry Wasserman Jerry Wasserman (born November 2, 1945) is an Americans, American professor and film and television actor. Wasserman was born in Cincinnati, Ohio. He was a professor of English and Theatre at the University of British Columbia. He was also a f ...

as Detective Al Condon *

Terry David Mulligan Terry David Mulligan (born June 30, 1942) is a Canadian actor and radio and television personality based in Vancouver, British Columbia. Life and career Born in New Westminster, British Columbia, Mulligan worked as a Royal Canadian Mounted Pol ...

as Mr. McHugh * Merrilyn Gann as Mrs. McHugh * Stephen Chang as Ben * Russell Jung as Jerry * Michele Little as Stella * Allan Lysell as Mr. Lusky * Donna Lysell as Mrs. Lusky * Keith Beardwood as Mr. Culp * Sharlene Martin as Suzette * Celia Martin as Sandy * Ian Black as Limo Driver * Karen Campbell as Suzy * Sean Orr as Aldo * Dave 'Squatch' Ward as Earl * Peter Williams as The Bartender * Constance Barnes as Bonna * Todd Duckworth as Motorcycle Cop

Reception

''Mystery Date'' holds a 25% approval rating on

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

based on eight reviews; the average rating is 4.7/10. Desson Howe from ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'' wrote: "''Mystery Date'' is an exclamation point movie. Built on nothing but zany high points, it survives entirely on plot surprise. Maybe this kind of Date is for you! But guess what! I'd rather be at the pub!"

References

External links

* * *{{AFI film, id=58953, title=Mystery Date 1991 films 1991 romantic comedy films 1990s teen comedy films 1990s teen romance films American romantic comedy films American teen comedy films American teen romance films Films scored by John Du Prez Films shot in Vancouver 1990s English-language films 1990s American films English-language romantic comedy films